Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the remainder of India’s tour of England due following a knee injury. Sources indicate that Reddy sustained the injury during a gym session on Sunday, with subsequent scans confirming ligament damage. This development presents another challenge for India’s preparations for the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in Manchester, commencing on July 23. Fast bowlers Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh are also recovering from injuries, potentially sidelining them from the upcoming match. In response, Anshul Kamboj has been added to India’s squad as a seam-bowling replacement.
These injury concerns add to existing workload management issues, with Jasprit Bumrah limited to playing only three of the five Tests in the series. Bumrah featured in the first and third Tests, and India has indicated they are “leaning towards” including him at Old Trafford, especially after an eight-day break between the third and fourth Tests.
Reddy, who sat out the series opener in Leeds, played in the second and third Tests. His impact in Birmingham was minimal, contributing only two runs and bowling six wicketless overs. However, he made crucial contributions at Lord’s, taking “crucial top-order wickets” by dismissing England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in the same over during the first innings, and then getting Crawley out again in the second. He also scored “30 and 13 with the bat” in that match.
Reddy would have been optimistic about his chances for the third Test. However, his spot might have been contested by Dhruv Jurel, who is a potential wicketkeeper option at Old Trafford, particularly if Rishabh Pant, currently recovering from a finger injury, plays solely as a specialist batter.
India has consistently fielded a seam-bowling allrounder in all three Tests so far. Shardul Thakur played the first Test before Reddy took his place in Birmingham. Thakur could make a return at Old Trafford if Reddy remains unavailable and India opts to maintain the same team combination. England currently leads the series 2-1 heading into the fourth Test.
India’s Squad
Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
England Squad for the Remaining Tests:
Ben Stokes (Captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes